KISSING COUSINS: U.S. Navy Wooden Minesweepers and Variants (YMS, PCS, AGS) and USN and Royal Australian Navy Bomb and Mine Disposal Personnel in the Pacific in World War II, 1944-1945.

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Late in World War II, the U.S. Navy mandated that 59 wooden-hulled ships laid down in builders' yards as YMS minesweepers, be completed as patrol craft sweepers (PCS). 16 of the YMSs were sent to the Pacific, engaged in combat operations with amphibious forces at Saipan and Tinian, followed by the southern Palau Islands, Leyte and Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. During invasions of Japanese-held islands, PCSs directed waves of assault craft to hostile beaches; then joined YMSs, once finished with minesweeping, in patrol duties.

Four PCSs were converted to AGS survey ships for the invasion of Okinawa. There, while subject to Japanese shore fire and Kamikaze attacks, the gun crews of some YMSs, PCSs and AGSs shot down attacking aircraft. Separately throughout the war in the Pacific, kissing cousins of another ilk, U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy Bomb and Mine Disposal personnel plied their dangerous craft at sea, on beaches, and in inland jungle areas of enemy-held or recently captured island bastions. One hundred ninety-six photographs, maps, and diagrams; appendices; and an index to full names, places, and subjects add value to this work.